Travelling to China: Money Issues

When I was in Beijing last year, I used my TD Bank card to withdraw money from bank machines that had the Plus logo. I used it about 8 times but one time it didn't work.. I tried to withdraw 700 yuan but nothing came out. The money was deducted from my account though. I called the bank the next week and after about 2 months I got the money back.

Anyways, the service charge was $5/transaction.. but the exchange rate was quite fair. Much better than the rate the banks in Canada were offering me before I left for the trip.

@ Joachim,

danke für die info ^_^ (falls die dankesmessage nicht durchgekommen ist, ansonsten eben nochmals danke [kann man(n) nie oftgenug sagen :-) ] )

Re carrying cash, two days ago I saw a man and a little girl pickpocketing - he was getting the kid to do the dirty work, which was really disturbing. She just had tried to get into the purse of one woman, who yelled and nearly hit her when she saw what was happening. Apparently theft gets much worse around the holidays and a surprising number of kids are involved in it.

I use a Maestro (normal band debit card) and a VISA. Maestro is only for ATM's. I try not to use my VISA card in ATM's for fear of seeing it disappear into the machine. VISA is too valuable for that because if you really need it it can do a lot more than just help you withdraw money.

But be careful. In a lot of hotels VISA won't be of any help regarding the deposit. They often expect you to pay it cash. That is actually a good thing because when you pay your deposit, you have at least the guarantee that in case of theft your hotel bill will be covered. A deposit is often some 20% higher per day than the agreed room price. So if you are staying in a 100RMB per night/room hotel (yes, that is the sort of accomodation I go for :-) ) expect to be asked for about 1.000 RMB deposit for one week. The good thing about this is that you will get money back in the end.

I also tend to withdraw the maximum allowed amount from ATM's, for Maestro that is 2.000RMB. I make a point of carrying the money in 2 or 3 different pockets and wallets/pouches. The same with my Maestro and VISA card. Each in a separate wallet. Same with my passport and id card. The most obvious place for valuables, my 'normal' black leather wallet, just contains some money and my id-card and my Maestro card. I keep it in my jacket or in my trouser back pocket.

But I feel really safe in China. Some cities may be different but I have never seen or experienced any proble ms in the cities I have visited.

Marc

One tip that I would like to give as an expat is to call your bank before you leave and let them know what countries you will be traveling in. Sometimes, in order to protect you from fraud your own credit card will cut you off until you verify them that it is really you using the card. Unfortunately you are unable to get that call or make an 800 number call from abroad. Just a heads up.

(das Hp sollte Hi sein...)

Hp Joachim, wieviel kostet dich der Flug circa und von wo mit welcher Airline?

I had no problems with my (German) credit cards (VISA) and my (German) Maestro card in China (mostly Shanghai, Beijing, Xian etc.).

I used to have a Chinese debit card with Bank of China and had some minor problems with that when trying to use an ATM of another bank and/ or in another province. I have heard of people having problems with a Chinese credit card because of restrictions that apply.

We usually just take some RMB with us to pay the taxi and some drinks etc. and head to the next ATM (at the airport).

For safety reasons, we carry some Euros with us that we never need, but it just feels better having some cash on hand.

I like to carry enough RMB to get settled after the plane lands (enough to pay for ground transportation to the hotel, a snack, whatever). I stay at hotels that take credit cards, and for the rest I change US cash for RMB as needed. However, my trips are all short (one week or less). I also don't buy that much (I try to avoid checking luggage). For a long trip, there's a limit to how much cash I'd be willing to carry. So, I'd have to come up with some other arrangement.

CWWW-hahaha, that's funny! By the looks of your avatar, I doubt your arse is fat : )

you only spent 700 in your trip? Wow i get through that in a few days, with nothing to show for it but a few taxi reciepts and a fat arse

No the tea scam was on my credit card. I did also withdraw a 100 out of a cash machine just to see if it worked.

bazza

you mean you spent 600RMB on the tea scam and only 100RMB during the rest of the trip? that's not possible, is it?

I just took about 1300 RMB with me, I came back with about 600. I bought very little though, as I had limited luggage space.

I used a Dutch-issued debit card in a cash machine in Dalian once. The machine said 'Please take your cash', made some pleasant noises, opened the flap where cash usually comes from, made some more noises, closed the flap and said 'Thank you!' The money never arrived. One of the bank's people was actually busy repairing another ATM just two feet away. I showed him the receipt and he said it would be ok, no money would be taken from my account and a mysterious printed cross in a particular place on the receipt would be the proof that the transaction had failed. So I walked away.

Weeks later, I checked the record and discovered that the money did leave the account. I had retained the receipt but was too busy to follow up and Dalian was a bit too far by then.

Luckily, a few weeks after that the whole sum was put back into my account without any action on my part, much to the credit of both the Dutch and the Chinese banks.

With all occasional problems, still, nothing beats the convenience of ATM machines.

i'm was also wondering about how to handle money when i go over there in march. Thanks for the info...sounds like i need to find the nearest Bank of China!

I use my American bank's debit/credit card all the time to withdrawl money from Bank of China's ATMs. No other ATMs worked for me, as I now know from my studies of Chinese economics that BoC was set up to deal with foreign currency and exchanges. No wonder the other banks hated me.

WIth US ATM debit cards it's been a hit or miss scenario. Be careful of trying too many times or your card may get swallowed.

Bring some cash with you and change at the hotel or bank.

Many restaurants are "cash only" establishments.

HI! I never had any problems with my French visa card.

I also used travellers in Euros but they were only taken in "Banks of China", not in other ones.That's the only point.

The first time when going down to the South I was scared not to find banks and I had a lot of cash with me. No need.I remember how it was boring to take care of that money!

I've been using UK HSBC Visa and debit cards in China with no problem but have to find a bank with Visa/Maestro/Plus logos on the ATM's. It is no problem in the big cities but becomes more of a problem the more remote you get. In Changchun (a province captal) there are only a few such ATM's. Same for paying bills; you will hardly find anywhere here except for 5/4 star hotels accepting anything other than cash (or local debit cards). Depending upon where you are going, I would recommend a wad of TC's (GBP is OK) as a backup rather than cash, they can be exchanged at any Bank of China branch.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think the general consensus is that a mix of money sources is a good idea. I think I'm going to go with the travellers cheques option along with the credit card for backup/large purchases.

I just can't help but remember standing in a large Beijing shopping mall and being told that they had to call Visa and do the transaction over the phone if I wanted to pay by card.

I should probably sit down and work out the cost of different methods of exchanging money, but instinct has always put me off taking money out from a machine that charges me for the privilege. Maybe i've been spoilt with free ATM withdrawls as the norm.

No problem using a debit card (from a Canadian account), but I have to find a machine on the plus network - interac is tougher to find. Banks are fine too if you have traveller's cheques. I am not familiar with beijing, but you should be able to go online and find locations of ATMS that support the network that your bank uses.

billgloveruk,

You might see it your hotel (assuming you are staying at one) offers cash advances or changes money. Your other options (changing currency in the UK and or at a travelex office) probably lead to hefty fees.

Has anyone else had any luck with using bank account debit cards from US at atm in China? I too am traveling soon and I will try this again but I seem to remember having issues with this.

I never have trouble getting cash advance from atm on credit cards. Cant use bank debit card to withdraw money very well - in fact, I dont remember it ever working. Cash or check can be changed at hotel desk. Of course purchased items and meals usually can be handled with credit cards. I usually arrive with enough RMB to handle cab at airport and obtain the rest I need as I go. Usually no problem in city. Actually you can exchange money at airport. I have never had a problem. I bring both cash and plastic to cover any gaps in atm function. I remember once on a sunday night the lines were down so atm did not function but this is rare.